The bulk of local costs related to hosting the game fell on the Minnesota Super Bowl Host CommitteeGETTY IMAGES
The NFL "asked for a lot" from Minnesota before bringing Super Bowl LII to the state, and Minnesota "obliged," according to a front-page piece by Eric Roper of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The state's bid for the Super Bowl "agreed to all of the NFL's lengthy demands on cities interested in hosting the event, from free hotel rooms to exemptions on all local taxes." The document was comprised of "nearly 200 provisions that must be provided 'at no cost to the NFL,'" as well as the condition that the league "retain all ticket revenue." The bulk of local costs related to hosting the game "fell on the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee," which raised more than $50M in "private funds to cover expenses." That money "repaid the city of Minneapolis" over $7M for law enforcement, parking and other public expenses. The Minnesota State Department of Revenue "estimated that a tax break on Super Bowl-related tickets and parking sales meant the state lost out" on $9M and local governments $1.3M in potential revenue. The MSBHC had to "reimburse the NFL for some taxes that were not exempted, such as player income taxes." MSBHC CEO Maureen Bausch said of the NFL, "They're good business partners. ... When they chose Minnesota, they became our partner and they wanted it to work as much as we did." Bausch said that the MSBHC "paid out" just over $50M, largely raised from corporate donors, while the NFL's expenses "were five times greater." The bid document, "formatted as a point-by-point response to the bid specifications, covers details large and small." Bausch said that the MSBHC "spent less than the previous Super Bowl committee in Houston" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/19).
